As can verified by anyone that has ever attempted to place raked leaves, lawn clippings, piles of garbage, etc. into a trash bag, it is virtually impossible for a single person to successfully do so without 1) employing another person to hold open the bag; or 2) utilizing some type of large receptacle in which the bag is placed. Often, and especially for those that live alone, employing another person to hold open the bag is not a possibility. Use of a garbage can or other similar receptacle is also often not the best fit. For example, many garbage receptacles are large and heavy, and add significant weight that must be lugged around by the user. This also makes storage of the devices difficult and inefficient in terms of space—which can be especially important when one is using the receptacle while traveling, picnicking or camping.
Additionally, in order to place items into a typical garbage can, one must use a dustpan (or something that functions as a dustpan), or his hands in bringing the items from the pile into the receptacle. The garbage receptacle could potentially be laid on its side to prevent such handling of the trash. However, typically garbage cans are rounded and thus not well suited for lying on their sides. Additionally, such cans do not have an edge that allows for easy sweeping of the material into the can.
All of the foregoing shortcomings in the current state of the art, as well as many others, are addressed by the present invention in its various embodiments.